There’s no substitute for hands-on experience, whether the learning lab is connected to a class our outside of it in the working world. ‘Berg students are encouraged to complete internships as a way to prepare them for their careers, further develop their skills and begin to network for their futures. This week, we feature five students who completed internships that will help them take the next step after graduation.
There’s a favorite family photo of Madeline Flores as a toddler, sitting in her high chair – not at the dinner table but at the piano. That may have been an early indication of things to come for this sophomore organ performance major who comes from a musical family.
This summer, Madeline completed an internship as the assistant music director at St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Bluffton, Ohio, not far from her hometown of Columbus Grove.
“I met a lot of new people who so kindly welcomed me to their parish, and I loved learning more about the life of a church music director,” Madeline said.
She went into the internship with some experience as a church musician. Even so, the internship enlightened her in a number of ways. At St. Mary’s, Madeline was in charge of selecting music for weekend Masses, based on the theme of the readings for the services. She served as accompanist for the cantors and if there was no one available, she took on the role of vocalist as well.
Sister Carol, one of the nuns at the church, asked Madeline to assist in setting up midweek Holy Hour services. “Originally, I had planned to just play piano, cantor and pick out music,” Madeline said about one her favorite aspects of her internship. “Sister Carol reached out to me about organizing a few of the services with her.” Together, the pair met before each service to plan the theme and the music. Madeline enlisted the help of two high school students who sang and played piano while she accompanied on guitar.
“The guitar, piano and amazing harmonies all together created such a beautiful and powerful experience for us as well as a performance for the people who attended. I am so glad that I got to run those services,” Madeline said.
A valuable lesson and a new skill emerged in the challenge of learning the idiosyncrasies of the cantors with whom she performed at Masses, Madeline explained. “Some of the cantors made a couple little mistakes here and there that I had to think on the fly to fix it and keep things running smoothly,” she said. “I definitely think it strengthened me as an accompanist.”
It’s always a great hope that internships can clarify students’ major and career path. For Madeline, that definitely occurred – on a spiritual level.
One particular weekend, she was having a bit of difficulty selecting music for the Masses. She turned to prayer. When she played her selections, the priest directly referenced every song she had chosen in his homily without knowing them in advance. “It was crazy how it all worked out,” she said. “He complimented me on my song choices after Mass as well.”
The internship at St. Mary’s, combined with her music classes and organ and piano lessons at Heidelberg, solidified for Madeline that she is on the right path to becoming a full-time musical director at a Catholic church.
She’ll get some more practice around the Christmas season. St. Mary’s has asked her back to assist with Masses and services.